Nurses to be offered university courses to retrain as GPs

The Scottish government is attempting to reverse a steady decline in the number of GPsANTHONY DEVLIN/PA

Nurses and other healthcare staff who want to retrain as doctors are to be offered university places in a bid to boost GP numbers.

The Scottish government will fund 85 additional places at universities to help to reach its aim of increasing the number of GPs by 800 over the next decade. The University of Edinburgh will offer 25 places on a five-year course, said to be the first of its kind in Britain. The course will be part-time and largely online for the first three years so that participants can continue working.

The universities of Glasgow and Aberdeen will each offer 30 places on new courses with a greater focus on general practice. Sixty places will be offered in 2019-20 and a further 25…

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